Skinny
by CronaxMakaFTW
Summary: Haku x Neru hospital fic. R&R :0) Rated T for later chapters!
1. And So It Begins

"Honey, I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at myself for not noticing sooner..." Mom sighs sadly "I'll be back to visit in a few weeks, get better soon ok?" she walks away, leaving me in this supposed "Teen's rehabilitation center". I grumble I'm led down a hallway, I don't know who's taking me, I'm not really paying attention, but I know she has pink hair. I'm taking to a room, on the highest floor, and she tells me to stay and unpack until supper. Angry and tired, I just sit one of the beds, the one that doesn't have all the books on it, and rest my head in my hands. My head is starting to hurt, and I feel really dizzy- Which is no surprise, considering the fact that I haven't eaten in three days. The most I've had is a piece of chocolate, which doesn't fill you up much. What makes matters worse, is that I feel like I'm going to pass out any second now.

"Hey! You're the new girl right?" a cheerful voice asks as the door flies open. I look up to see a tall girl, with short green hair, and two long strands falling onto her shoulders. And she's- Never mind… Mom wants me to get better, and saying stuff like that isn't gonna help. "Well, its dinner time now, so you can come down." she smiles at me.

"No thanks, I'm not hungry…" I mumble, turning to my suitcase. She looks at me for a second, contemplation written all over her face. Eventually, she shrugs, and walks off, probably to the cafeteria.

Ugggh! How am I supposed to get over this when there are probably a ton of beautiful, skinny girls here, and I'm just fat and stupid!? Sometimes I don't understand how my mom thinks…

The doorknob jiggles and the door clicks open, revealing the woman who took me up here earlier. Oh great, just what I need…

"Hey there! Judging by what your Mom said earlier, I really think you should go eat."

"If you know why I'm here, why did you think that would work?" I growl tiredly

"I didn't, but it's worth a try, right?" she sighs sitting next to me "Can I at least get you one thing, like some bread or something? You can eat up here, but just eat something. I don't want you passing out in the middle of conversation."

"Say what now?" I twitch. Conversation? They want me to interact with people? I hate my luck. "Fine, fine. But only one thing." I grumble, crossing my arms. She sighs and gets up

"Well, it's a start…" she mumbles walking out the door.

One microscopic bowl of macaroni later, I'm heading down the hall to the rec-room, because I supposedly need to be "social" and make new "friends." I honestly don't see how this is going to help my situation anyways. I walk into the pastel blue room, and am immediately greeted by a flurry of yellow and red as three kids roll past me, wrestling with each other.

"Hey new kid!" the green haired girl from earlier calls out to me, and I slowly make my way over to her. "How's your first day goin? I'm Gumi by the way."

"Ah, good enough, I suppose, already got in trouble, but hey, that's me." I sigh "Oh yeah, my name's Neru."

"Nice to meet you Neru! What'd you get in trouble for?" she tilts her head to the side

"Not goin to dinner. The doctors are the only ones who know why I'm here, so one of them told me off, and brought me something to eat." I yawn, half conscious

"Oh! You're the other person she up food for!" Only one person here is allowed to eat food in her room, because she has severe social anxiety issues. Though, she does come to group therapy sometimes." The green haired girl yawns also, apparently just as awake as I am. "Did I mention we share a room?" I shake my head "Well know you know!" she smiles, stretching.

"Hold on, did you say group therapy?" I groan, annoyance lacing my voice

"Yeah, you're never a part of our messed up family until you've been in one session. Basically, everyone talks about their week, and how they're feeling. But, if you're new, you get to learn why everyone else is there, and they get to learn why you're there."

"Sounds fantastic!" I grumble sarcastically.

I said goodbye to Gumi, and went back up to our, room, where I lied down on my bed closed my eyes.

_Well, it's not so bad I guess, I'll find a way to skip meals somehow. Probably run off somewhere, away from all the doctors at mealtimes._

I sigh as I feel myself slipping in and out of consciousness the lack of proper food catching up to me. Shaking and shivering, I get up and quickly change into my yellow pajamas and take out my ponytail, before falling onto the bed, and blacking out.

"Neru~ Come on, wake up~" I hear Gumi say in a sing-song voice while shaking me awake. I force my eyes open and sit up, rubbing the sleep out of them. "Man, I thought you'd never wake up!" she giggles as she pulls me out of bed. "Come on, it's breakfast time!"

"No thanks, not hungry…" I yawn, not really paying attention to what I'm saying.

"Oh come on, you have to be at least a little hungry!" she pouts

"Yeah, I'm starving, but I'm not gonna eat." I slap a hand over my mouth. Crap! What did I just say!?

Gumi frowns and walks up to me. Being much taller, she towers over me, with an intimidating stare. "Oh, I see." She huffs, beginning to walk away. But quickly turns around and throws me over shoulder.

"Gaaahh! What the hell are you doing!?" I yelp, trying to get out of her grip.

"Going to breakfast, kidnapping someone, the usual." She hums happily. Still shaking a little, I give up and let her carry me down to the cafeteria.

We pass a bunch of people, none of whom give a second glance, except one girl. She's tall, and has long silver hair tied in a sloppy ponytail. Her striking red eyes are confused and a little fearful, and she's shaking too. God she's looks so beautiful, I wish I could look like that. Our eyes meet for a second, and for a moment, the fear in her eyes seems to disappear, replaced with curiosity and a warm aura of friendliness. All of which disappears as soon as our gaze breaks apart.

"You seem awfully quiet for someone being dragged somewhere against their will." Gumi shakes me out of my thoughts.

"Ah! Sorry, just thinking. Say, who was that girl with the silver hair?"

"Her? Her name is Haku; she's the one I was talking about yesterday." She lets me down and grabs my arm, dragging me into the cafeteria. She sets me down at a table with those two blonde kids and a boy-at least I think it's a boy- with platinum hair. "Rin, Len, Piko, this is Neru, my new roommate!" the three wave at me "Make sure she doesn't leave while I'm gone ok?" They all nod, two finger saluting her.

"So! What are you here for?" the blonde girl asks excitedly

"I suppose you'll find out soon enough, there's a group therapy session after breakfast right?" I reply, looking down. I really hate telling people about it.

I wait until they start a conversation between themselves, before trying slip away. I successfully manage to escape the cafeteria, but Gumi saw me, and is currently charging over to me. Now would be a great time to run. I make a mad dash for the stairs, running up to the second floor, before running off to the left. I end up catching my breath next to Ms. Megurine, the doctor who brought me my dinner last night.

"Hello Neru, how are you doing?" she asks cheerfully

"There you are!" Gumi looks at me from the other end of the hallway. I gulp and start running again, heading towards the stairs and sliding down the rail. "I swear Neru, I'll get you to eat something, or I'll die trying!" Gumi laughs, chasing me down the stairs. I take a look at Ms. Megurine, and I can tell by her facial expression that she's thinking the same thing I am.

_"I must really be horrible if I'm willing to run like this to escape eating…"_

* * *

__Yay! That hospital fic I was talking about! It will have a lot more people later, and next chapter you get to learn who and why everyone's there.


	2. 2:30 AM, Just For Cereal?

Neru POV

Me and Gumi sit on the bright green couch in the rec-room-Jeez, who picked out the colors?- She had chased me for another half-hour before we gave up and came here for group time.

"Ok everyone!" a tall, gray-haired man, his hair in a stubby ponytail, clapped his hands. "We have a new patient with us, so we'll have to introduce ourselves!" he smiles, sitting down and gesturing for the kid on the end to start.

"I-I'm Oliver… I'm schi-schizophrenic…" the kid-who I have to admit is adorable as all hell get out- stammers while adjusting the bandages over his eye.

"I'm Rin, and I have… separation issues." the blonde girl from earlier shrugs.

"My name's Len, and I also have… separation issues." He laughs, sticking his tongue out at Rin, who lightly slaps his shoulder.

"I'm Piko, and I'm here for sever OCD." The silver-haired kid from breakfast, who I'm sure is a boy, nods.

"Hi! I'm Kikaito! I have Multiple Personality Disorder." A tall boy with blue hair waves to me.

"I'm H-Haku, I'm he-here for severe social anxiety…"a silver haired girl stutters nervously. I recognized her from this morning, the girl we passed in the hall.

"My name is Miki, and I'm here for delirium."

"Gumi, here from some hella indecisive bipolar shit." Gumi smirks at the doctor who just twitches.

Oh great, my turn… "My name's Neru, and I'm anorexic." I say nonchalantly, trying to mask my discomfort.

"Alright, and I'm Dr. Honne Dell. Now that we're all more or less acquainted with each other, let's begin!" the doctor sighs, asking Oliver to start.

Since I only just got here, I don't really have to say anything. So I just stay silent and listen to everyone else. Eventually though, I start to feel dizzy again, my head starts pounding, and my vision is blurring. Maybe I should eat _something_. I don't want this to happen every five minutes. Though it does mean, I'm getting skinnier! At least that's good, right?

"Neru," I become vaguely aware of someone trying to get through the muddled mess that is my mind at the moment. "Neru?" the voice becomes louder, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Neru!" I shake it off and look up at them. Gumi's looking down at me, worry evident in her emerald eyes. "Come on, I still have to get you something to eat!" she smirks, though I can tell she's still worried. It's something I can do, sense what people are actually feeling from their eyes, and just generally an aura type thing, I don't really know how to explain it.

"Not today!" I smirk to, hopping over the end of the couch and bolting up the stairs.

I'm sure I've lost her now, after all, she just ran past my hiding place. I poke my head out and look from side to side. No one, good. I take a step out, and make sure no one is around again.

Now all I need to…do is… is… Oh shit…

Haku POV

I can't seem to get the new girl out of my mind. I don't why, and it's really confusing me. It started when she and Gumi passed me in the hall this morning, the first thing I noticed- besides the fact that Gumi had her thrown over her shoulder- was that she was way too thin, at least now I know why. I don't know why, but the way she looked at me, made me feel like I could trust her. A feeling I don't usually get.

I continue muttering to myself as I walk down the hallway, only to come across the very girl I'm thinking about.

Unconscious on the floor.

I lift her onto my back, and speed over to Ms. Megurine's office.

"Ms. Megurine?" I knock on the door tentatively. "We have a little bit of a problem." I frown sheepishly as she opens the door. She gasps and grabs Neru's wrist, probably checking her pulse. She lets out a relieved sigh, and tugs me upstairs, to Neru's room most likely.

"I told her she'd faint…" Ms. Megurine mutters grumpily, though I can sense the worry coming off of her in waves. It's a weird thing I can do. "Haku, can you get Gumi for-If you don't mind of course! If you don't want to go through all those people, I can get someone else to-"

"No, no, It's fine." I reassure her with a slight chuckle. She always says that when she asks me to find someone. I'm only comfortable around three people here-er… two and a fifth?- Gumi, Ms. Megurine and some of Kaito's personalities. Only Kikaito, Nigaito and Mokaito.

I set out on my adventure to find Gumi, our "Family's" resident helper. She's done a lot of things to help everyone else here. Gave Oliver a leash for his pet sparrow, James, made a sign-language and taught it to everybody so I could talk to them if I was too nervous, studied Kaito's personalities and gave him a schedule of when each would come out. Hell, she's even helped the doctors with vaccination research! She's really amazing.

"Hey Gumi!" I call out to her. She turns to me completely out of breath and sweating.

"Hey Haku, have you seen Neru?" she pants, still catching her breath.

"About that… Something bad happened to her, and Ms. Megurine needs to see you." I stammer nervously. Before I can say anything else, she's bolted up the stairs. "Gumi, wait up!" I shout after her, trying to catch up with her. I earn a lot of surprised looks, since it's a once-in-a-life-time chance to hear my voice higher than a mumble, so when I'm shouting, everyone thinks it's the apocalypse.

I finally catch up with her, just as she reaches the door to her room. She haphazardly throws the door open, and runs over to Ms. Megurine.

"Wha-what happened?" she asks between gulps of air.

"Neru passed out from not eating in four days." The doctor sighs worriedly "Can you stay here until she wakes up?"

"Ma'am yes ma'am!" Gumi two finger salutes Ms. Megurine as she walks out.

"Why were you so out of breath earlier?" I ask Gumi, who's sitting on the edge of Neru's bed.

"Well, I kind of kidnapped Neru and brought to the caf for breakfast once I found out about her anorexia, and I asked the twins and Piko if they'd keep her from leaving. She got away anyway, but I chased after her, and we've been doing it ever since then." she sighs worriedly.

Neru POV

I open my eyes to pure black.

Great I'm trapped in my mind again, I wonder how long this time.

I get up and walk around for a bit, trying to find something that'll help me get out. Eventually, I come across a sandwich, and it seems to be the only thing around. But… I-I can't eat it… I'm still horribly overweight! But… if I want to get out of here… Oh well, you win some, you lose some. Besides, I'm going to have to eat something real when I get out of here anyways. Someone's gonna get mad at me. I sigh in defeat as I pick up the sandwich and take a bite out of it… Not that bad actually.

I open my eyes yet again, only this time to the ceiling of my room. Everything's hazy and my head still hurts, even more this time. I sit up and scratch my head, only to be tackle hugged back down by Gumi.

"Neru! Oh my God Neru don't scare me like that!" she whines.

"What did I do?" I ask tentatively, and she frowns at me.

"You fainted in the middle of the hallway."

"Hehe, sorry about that…" I smile guiltily

"Well come on! You really need to eat something now!" she smiles, picking me up again, although this time in more a piggy back kind of way. "Come on Haku! Let's go!" she speeds down the hallway.

"Wait, Haku is with us?" I raise an eyebrow

"Yeah, she is the one who found you." Gumi states matter-of-factly. I just shrug as we continue our journey to the cafeteria, where I get a bowl of cereal. It's a pathetically small bowl, but it's the largest amount of food I've had in a while. "Oh, you might want to avoid Ms. Megurine for a little while." Gumi switches the subject.

"Yeah, she's going to flip when she see's you again." Haku adds quietly. "I remember the time that happened to Miki. She was really freaked out about this one hallucination, and didn't eat for a while. She ended up fainting in the middle of a walk with Piko, and when Ms. Megurine found out, she totally freaked, and nearly had a panic attack."

"You guys all seem to be a pretty tight family." I smile, looking down.

"Yeah," they respond simultaneously

"Oliver's the adorable little brother, Kaito is all of the other crazy brothers, Gumi is the sweet older sister, Piko, Miki, Rin and Len are the relatively normal tween siblings and I'm that older sister that never comes out of her room." Haku smiles fondly.

"Wait- What time is it?" I switch the subject. Gumi looks at her watch

"Two thirty AM, why?" I nearly do a spit take.

"You guys are up at two thirty, waiting for me to wake up, and getting me some cereal?" I stare them down disapprovingly. They both smile guiltily and twiddle their thumbs.

"Ehehehe…" Gumi laughs sheepishly "Welcome to the family?" she shrugs, smiling.

Welcome to the family indeed…

The next morning after breakfast, there isn't any therapy, so me and Gumi spend the whole morning running from Ms. Megurine. Once in the rec-room, someone tugs on my sleeve. I look down to see little Oliver, his bird on his shoulder.

"Is onee-chan feeling better?" he asks in his small voice. I smile and kneel down to his level.

"Yeah, thanks." I ruffle his hair, making him smile.

"That's good! Bye onee-chan!" he hugs me before running off.

"Holy crap, that kid is cuter than a baby panda." I stand up and Gumi laughs.

"_Maybe I could get to like this place…"_

* * *

Wow... this is the longest chapter I've written for any multi-chap...

Well, now you know who is here and why. Have fun imagining who's roommates.


	3. Shattered Glass

Neru POV

Resuming my constant chase with Gumi, I'm now outside in the pouring rain, leaning against the side of the building. I look up when I hear a car door slam, and a familiar voice of my best friend, Teto Kasane, rambling about something incoherent. I gulp and make my way to the back of the building, in no state of mind fit to talk to my friend without doing something I'll regret later.

"God, I'm so worried about her! To just leave like that, without saying anything, it's not like her…" her worried voice carries all the way over to me.

"I'm sure she's fine, she was probably just scared to tell us." I recognize the voice as Miku Hatune's, another one of my close friends.

I sigh quietly as I sneak up to the front window, looking through. Miku is talking with Gumi, about god knows what, and Teto is sulking in the chair by the door. I smile a little, remembering all the crazy things we got up to in school. Things like, screwing around with the teacher's desk, starting food fights in the cafeteria, and of course, playing heavy metal rock music over the PA. We've each gotten suspended at least twice. I tense when I feel hot streaks of water running down my face, sniffling. Growling slightly, I wipe away the offending tears.

"The fuck am I crying for..?" I ask myself quietly. "Stupid emotions…" I look up again, to see Teto standing in front of me, smiling. "Gah!" I yelp as I fall backwards "When the hell did you get here!?"

"When you were spacing out, duh." She helps me up and punches me shoulder lightly. "What were you thinking about anyway?" her abnormally pink eyes look concerned. I shouldn't be one to comment on weird eye color, after all, mine are yellow.

"Nothing important." I grumble, frustrated.

"I've known you for six years, I can tell when you're too cold just by glancing at you. You really think "Nothing important" is gonna work with me?" she frowns, crossing her arms.

"No, but it was worth a try." I shrug it off, hoping she'll switch the topic.

"So… How've you been?" she smiles awkwardly "Eaten much..?" she adds quietly, looking down.

"Meh, good enough, I suppose. And no, I haven't eaten much. Only two or three times in the past week or so." I murmur slightly, looking my friend up and down.

She has her hair in her signature drill pigtails, wearing black jeans and a pink hoodie. She's gotten a lot taller since I last saw her, probably a foot or two taller than me now. Why am I so short?

"Well come on! Let's get something to eat!" she grabs my arm and drags me inside, the both of us sopping wet.

"You too?" I sigh, ripping my arm from her grip and walking beside her, shoving my hands in my pockets.

"Me too? What do you mean?" she tilts her head to the side

"My friend Gumi. She tends to try to drag me to the cafeteria to get food all the time. She's usually just chasing me though." I quickly explain, looking around for Miku. "Say, where'd Miku go?"

"Last I saw of her, she was talking to a girl with bright green hair. I think they said something about waiting in the cafeteria- Hey wait a minute! How'd you know Miku was even here?"

"I'm psychic." I smirk, trying not to laugh at her confused expression.

Haku POV

Shakily grabbing my plate, I head up to my room, the cafeteria getting too crowded. On my out though, I pass Neru, and a girl with pink hair. Neru's eyes lock onto mine, and for a brief second, all I can see in them is vulnerability. It's almost scary how vulnerable and broken she looks right now. She gives me a quick smile before turning back to the girl. I shake my head slightly, before continuing the walk to my room, Neru's eyes a constant thought on my mind.

How can I tell I can even trust her? It's not like she's done anything mean or unforgivable here, but… I just… get that kind of vibe from her. I feel like I can trust her, with almost anything, and I don't know why. It's bugging me for some reason.

I sigh heavily as I finish my lunch, thoughts swirling every which way in my head. Frowning slightly, I get up and take off my hoodie revealing a few scars and a bruise or two. I haphazardly throw it into my closet, before flopping onto my bed for a quick nap.

Neru POV

After a rather hectic visit from Teto and Miku, I'm heading upstairs with a headache, trying to get to y room as soundlessly as possible. Unfortunately, a laughing Rin and Len run past, being chased by and angry Kaito. The throbbing pain in my head getting worse, I growled and threw open the door to my room, and stormed inside, jumping onto the bed. Yawning loudly, I stare at the ceiling as it starts to grow hazy. With one more yawn, I fall asleep, and falling back into the murky chaos that are my nightmares.

* * *

Uneventful chapter is uneventful.

Sorry for being so late! I got caught up in everything else, and couldn't work on this for a while! I know this chapter isn't the best, i just wanted to update. Teto and Miku might pop up later, I dunno.


	4. Hallucinations

_Red. Everywhere. That's all I can see, an oozing, gloomy red. Dripping, falling, making puddles around my feet. My wrists are tied behind my back with rope, and my legs feel like lead, preventing me from getting up. A man dressed all in black, carrying a katana in a white sheath strides in, a scowl on his face. He kneels in front of me, taking out the katana and lightly pressing the tip against my forehead. He slowly puts more and more pressure on it, until it becomes agonizingly suffocating waiting for him to break skin. Just as he's about to, he grabs my arm, and with one swift movement, makes a deep cut. His scowl turns into a smirk, as he continues to slowly drag the blade across my arms, my blood adding to the red._

"_Qu-quit it old geezer!" I growl, despite being in an immense amount of pain. "I'd r-rather not be… ripped into shreds." _

"_Shut it, unworthy scum." His hand connects with my cheek, leaving a red mark in the shape of a hand. He moves down to my legs, and I scream in pain as he cuts down to the bone. Tears spilling over, I grit my teeth as he makes another deep gash. _

"_P-please… Stop it." I rasp weakly, blood loss getting to me, not to mention the pain. "If you're gonna kill me… ge-get it over with already…"_

_The man's smirk widens, and he readies his sword, the tip touching the left side of my chest. He pulls back, and thrusts._

I sit bolt upright in bed, breathing heavily, my hand flying to my chest.

"Just a dream… It was… just a dream…" I murmur to myself, looking over my arms for any wounds. I breathe a sigh of relief when I find none.

"You ok?" I look up to see Gumi, standing next to my bed, her arm still reaching down, probably from trying to shake me awake. Her emerald eyes are again, filled with worry.

"Yeah, I'm… I'm fine." I sigh, getting up and stretching. "Lemme guess, supper time?" I yawn, heading for the door. That's one of the things I hate about my nightmares, I always need to eat afterwards. It's a comfort thing, since I never had anyone to comfort me when I was living with my dad, for the majority of my childhood, I used to sneak down to the kitchen and grab something to eat.

"You're going to willingly eat something?" she smiles slyly

"Yeah, what's it to ya?" I growl slightly "Don't judge." I kick the door open and head downstairs.

After a pitiful, yet a lot bigger than what I usually have, amount of soup, Ms. Megurine came over to me.

"Hi Neru!" she waves "could you maybe take this up to Haku? I'm a little busy at the moment." she smiles.

"Ok...?" I nod uncertainly, taking the plate from her and going upstairs again. Ms. Megurine did flip out, like Gumi and Haku had predicted, after she me saw two days after I passed out. It was actually pretty funny to watch.

I knock tentatively on Haku's door, shaking a little still feeling like I'm stuck in that nightmare. The door opens, and out steps the man with the white katana. I tense up, and look at him.

"I, uh, b-brought you di-dinner…" I stammer nervously, handing the plate to him.

"A-are you a-al-alright?" the man's image melts away, leaving Haku in his place "you're sh-shaking pretty badly." She stares down at me, her crimson eyes concerned.

God damn it, why do I make even worry about me? I'm not worth the energy.

"Yeah, I'm alright." I give her my best fake smile before turning around to leave.

"Liar." I stop in my tracks, clenching my fists.

Haku POV

I watch carefully as Neru turns her head to face me, a small smile on her face.

"You're smart." Is all she says before walking off. I bite my lip slightly as I close the door, and settle down to eat.

Looking out the window in the empty rec-room, my knees pulled up to my chest, I let out a worried sigh. I want to know what happened to Neru. I haven't seen her since supper, which was three and a half hours ago. I hope she didn't go out in the rain, it's turned into a thunder-storm now. Biting my lip again, I get up, going back to my room. On my way there, I see Neru staring out the wall-wide window with a terrified expression. She's shaking again, and her are fists clenched so tightly her knuckles are white.

"Neru?" I gently put a hand on her shoulder, making her jump.

"Ye-yeah?" she whimpers quietly, an obviously fake smile on her face.

"Come on," I take her hand in mine "let's go to my room for a little while."

After getting to my room, we sit down and talk for a bit, until a particularly loud crash of thunder makes Neru yelp and latch onto me.

"Scared?" I smile softly, stroking her hair. I feel her nod against my side, and hear her whimpering. "Shhhh, it's ok. Everything's fine." I pull her into my lap as more thunder crashes. She wraps her arms around my shoulders, burying her face in the crook of my neck.

Think Haku, think! She's obviously not calming down, what should I do?

Without a second thought, I do the first thing that comes to my mind. Sing something.

"Heart beats fast, colors and promises. How to be brave, how can I love when I'm afraid, to fall. But watching you stand alone, all of my doubt, suddenly goes away somehow. One step closer…" it seems to be working, at least she's not shaking anymore. "I have died every day, waiting for you. Darling don't be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years. I'll love you for a thousand more." Her grip loosens and she curls up a little more. "Time stands still, beauty in all she is. I will be brave, I will not let anything take away, what's standing in front of me. Every breath, every hour has come to this. One step closer," Neru snuggles into me, making me blush.. "I have died every day, waiting for you. Darling don't be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years. I'll love you for a thousand more. And all along I believed I would find you, time has brought your heart to me. I have loved you for a thousand years, I love you for a thousand more."

"Haku..?"Neru slurs tiredly

"Yes?"

"Thank you." she yawns, closing her eyes.

"One step closer, one step closer…" I continue, smiling. "I have died every day, waiting for you. Darling don't be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years, I'll love you for a thousand more." I stop there, seeing she' already asleep. As gently as possible, I detach her arms from my waist and pull the blankets up over her. I yawn and stretch stumbling over to the chair by the TV, flopping onto and curling up. I wonder why Neru is afraid of thunder and lightning. I know it's a perfectly normal fear, but Neru just doesn't strike as the type who'd be afraid of it. Maybe I'll ask her tomorrow.

* * *

Lyrics aren't mine, it's the song A Thousand Years, by Christina Perri.

Yay! Romance! Sort of... Close enough!


	5. Gunshot Trauma

Neru POV

I open my eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling, curious, but too tired to question it, I just yawn and turn over. Someone walks over and sits on the bed and pokes my shoulder lightly

"A-awake yet sleepy-head?" they ask in a soft voice, poking me again. Still too tired to really say or do anything, I nuzzle into the pillow, and curl up more, hoping the person will let me sleep some more. "Guess not…" they sigh, pulling the blanket back over me. They get up, and I hear the door open and close.

Why am I not in my room anyway? I don't actually remember much from last night. Just gunshots and lightning- or was it thunder? Pretty sure it was thunder. I just got really scared, and completely zoned out, kinda like an autopilot. I can't sit through a thunder-storm without being reminded of _that_. I shudder and whimper as the bits of the memory come rushing back to me.

"_Daddy, what are those men holding?"_

"_Oh my god… Neru, stay here ok? Don't come out until I come to get you." Five year-old me watches helplessly as my dad runs off, into a mess of robbers, killers, and people being shot._

I've yet to hear anything scarier than that many gunshots. As for what happened to Dad… He never came to get me. I've been afraid of thunder ever since, it sounds too much like a gun, and a gun nearby means someone I'm close to is going to die, and I'll be too weak to stop it.

The only other thing I remember from last night is singing. For some reason, I can't remember who it was, but it sure was beautiful singing.

Somewhat awake now, I sit up groaning slightly. Looking around, it looks like any other normal room, except it only has one bed instead of the usual two. The door opens again, and I look over to see Haku, who smiles at me in return.

"Feeling any better?" she asks quietly, sitting next to me.

"Yeah, thanks…" I trail off as I yawn, stretching.

"That's good. I-if there's ever another storm or something of the s-s-sort, you can a-always come back down here. I won't mind." She smiles, ruffling my hair. Slightly taken aback by the offer, though thankful, I nod, smiling as well. "Oh, and you might want to go see Gumi pretty soon. Knowing her, she's probably freaking out wondering where you are." She laughs slightly.

With one more "Thank you" I left and went back to my room, hoping Gumi would be there. Surprisingly, she isn't and I decide to, A, change clothes and B, go down to the cafeteria to see if she's there. Quickly changing into a yellow t-shirt and some baggy jeans, not even bothering to put my ponytail back in, I head downstairs again. Again, surprised to not to find her there, I sigh and sit down.

Maybe I should eat something while I'm here. No. I'm probably overweight again from all the eating I've done in the past few days. I'll wait it out for a few days.

"A drink wouldn't hurt though." I murmur absentmindedly, getting up. I end up bumping into someone, who roughly shoves me off, making a noise of disgust.

"Who the fuck are you?" they growl. I look to see Kaito, but his eyes aren't a color I've seen yet. They change color depending on the personality. This time, they're red. Not a warm, friendly red like Haku's, but an angry, intimidating red. "And who do you think you are, banging into such an important person? Dumb lowlife." He scoffs and turns away

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have our winner for asshole of the week." I grumble, walking past him.

"I heard that you dumbass!" he hisses

"You were supposed to." I smirk walking off, going outside to see if I can find Gumi.

My god, where the actual hell could she be!? Seriously I've checked everywhere I could think of. I lean against the door of the gym to think for a- Wait they have a gym? Curious, I poke my head in, and look around. Gumi is in the back, throwing kicks and punches at someone who looks like a doctor. He has violet hair in a really long ponytail, wearing jeans and a white button up shirt, the sleeves rolled up.

"Why are you training so hard?" he sighs, meeting Gumi's fist with his gloved hand.

"Because I need to get stronger, dumbass." She growls, relentlessly pounding his gloves.

"Why?" he presses

"If I can get stronger, I can get out of here." She states like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"And you think kick-boxing will help?" he chuckles

"No. I think controlling my emotions will help." The man looks at her curiously "For example, right now, I'm trying not to lash out at you, by concentrating on training. If I can learn to concentrate without training, I can leave, right?"

"You mean-"

"Yeah, I didn't take them this morning." She draws back her fist, preparing to thrust.

"Do you know how risky that is!?" he grabs her wrist "You do remember what happened last time don't you?"

"Duh, and that was then, this is now. I played my coins wrong last time, big deal." She rips her arm away

"Big deal? Big deal!? You nearly killed yourself! Played your coins wrong my ass! You're simply betting on which mood you drop to!?" he grabs her shoulders, pulling her closer.

"Yeah, I am. I know it's risky, but I have a pretty good grasp on it. I'll be fine don't worry about me."

"It's my job to worry about you. Just… be careful, ok? I don't want last time to repeat itself." He sighs kissing her forehead-Do these two have a relationship or something?

"Ok aniki, I'll try." He pats her head starts to walk out.

Confused, I just run back a little to make it look like I just got here. Walking over to Gumi, I think over what I just saw.

"There you are!' we both exclaim, dejectedly.

"Where were you? You kinda just disappeared on me last night."

"Oh… I ended up crashin' in Haku's room."

"Ok then." She smiles, gritting her teeth slightly. "I'm gonna head back to the room for a bit, be back down in a minute or two." And without another word she storms upstairs.

Strangely, after all of today's events and discoveries…

I kinda want another thunder-storm soon…

* * *

Yeah Gakupo and Gumi, have an... Interesting relationship in this one. You'll definitely be seeing him more often, he's gonna Be Neru's doctor.

Well, got nuthing else to say besides, sorry for the lack of HxN in this chap. This one's more backstoryish type thing? not really? I dunno...


	6. Juggling Unanswered Questions

Neru POV

After Gumi comes back downstairs, we continue walking aimlessly through the halls, talking about whatever we think of.

"Hey Gumi, do you know much about Kaito and his personalities?" I ask uncertainly.

"Yeah, why?"

"I want to know who the one with red eyes is."

"Ah, so he's back, hunh?" she smirks, pausing for a moment. "That's Akaito, he's a little dangerous to be around, since he tends to fly into… not exactly _murderous_, but violent rages? I dunno. Anyway, last time he came out… Him and Haku … Well, they didn't exactly get along, and they used to fight a lot." She sighs.

"Wait, Haku getting into a fight with someone?"

"Yeah, he thinks low of everyone else and insults them. Haku, got a little protective of us, and started throwing insults back at him. All of that ended up shoving her social issues to the side, and she would constantly bicker with him. And last time he was the dominant personality, he kind of… well…"

"Kind of what?"

"Never mind." Gumi waves me off, before completely switching the subject. "Hey Neru, don't you have a meeting with your therapist in a few minutes?"

"Yeah I should start- Wait, how did you know that?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Just a wild guess, most new people have appointments around this time." She flashes a smile.

"Guess I'd better go then." I shrug heading off.

I sit down on a couch in what I'm assuming to be the right room, and silently wait for whoever it is that's going interrogate me. I lie down, and stifle a yawn, drumming my fingers across my thigh. Damn, I can still feel scars down there.

"Ah, good morning. You must be Neru." The man with purple hair walks in, holding a clipboard to his chest. "Since this is only our first meeting, I'm only gunna ask a few simple questions." He smiles warmly.

"Do whatever, it's not like I have a choice in the matter." I mumble grumpily, sitting up.

"Pepsi or coke?"

"Say what?" I frown, confused.

"Pepsi or coke?" he smirks slightly.

"Neither? I don't really like soda."

"Alright then, favorite color? Favorite band? Favorite pastime?" he counts off his fingers.

"Red, Fall Out Boy, listening to music."

"I understand you haven't eaten much," he frowns "and that you could beat an Olympic runner in a stamina competition, but how is the food?

"Pretty good actually." I pull my knees up to my chest

"How do you find everyone? They all nice? Or what?"

"They're all pretty nice; I haven't had the chance to properly get to know all of them though."

"How were the past few days? Good, bad, don't really care?"

"Not particularly good, but nothing to complain about."

"How do you feel about your roommate?"

"Gumi? She's really nice, and we get along. Though I don't understand how she can chase me around for so long." I shrug, letting the death grip on my knees loosen a bit.

"Can you juggle?"

"What the hell does that have to do any of this?" I give him a confused look.

"You know what? I really know." He smiles warmly.

I think I can get to like this guy.

I stare longingly at the sky as the rain pours down, thoroughly drenching me. God only knows how long I've been out here, softly singing to myself; long enough for someone to be looking for me apparently, someone's calling for me. Oh well, unless they look up, they won't find me.

Once again, I'm up in the huge oak tree in the front yard. Had a hell of a time getting up here, but it's a great hiding spot if I wanna skip a meal. I always come up here and sing to myself when I'm skipping out on something, it calms me down.

I can't hear any voices or footsteps anymore, so I suppose it's safe.

"I may never sleep tonight," I start singing again, drumming my fingers across my thighs "as long as you're still, burning bright." I let my eyes close, just for a little while, and I relax, letting my shoulders loose. "If I could trade mistakes for sheep, count me away, before you sleep. I'll stay awake 'till I trade my mistakes, or they fade away. I feel marooned in this body, deserted my organs can move on without me," I start to feel a little tired, all the exhaustion I've been hiding crashing onto my shoulders "You can't fly these wings, you can't sleep in this box with me." Surely a little nap wouldn't hurt…

Haku POV

Gumi sighs as I sit down next to her, resting her head on her arms.

"What's wrong?" I ask quietly

"Can't find Neru. She's already skipped lunch, and she's about to miss supper." she groans.

"I'm sure she's fine, do you want me to help you look for her?" I smile reassuringly, or at least try to anyway.

"You don't mind? I mean, you're cool with her?" she asks happily.

"Yeah, we're friends… I think." I shrug, standing up again.

I sigh quietly as I walk through the trees in the front yard, still looking for Neru. I still don't know what it is about her that sparks my interest, she just… I don't know. I stop as an arm suddenly dangles in front of my face. Looking up, I'm half shocked to see Neru.

Asleep.

How does one fall asleep, in the rain, in a tree? I'd really like to know.

Shaking my head slightly, I nudge her shoulder, trying to get her to wake up. She opens her eyes and looks down at me sleepily, her golden eyes confused and drooping.

"Haku..? What're you doing here?" she yawns

"I could ask you the same thing. Sleeping in a tree in the pouring rain, are trying to get sick?" I chuckle as I help her down.

"Maybe..?" she yawns again, leaning against me slightly.

"Come on," I smile, picking her up, effortlessly. "You really should eat more, you weigh less than Oliver."

"No I don't… I'm overweight…"she nuzzles into me a little, dozing off again.

"No. You're not. You're fine just the way you are." I frown slightly as I tap the door with my foot, hoping Gumi will come open it.

"But… they said- they all said… I… They said I was…" she trails off, closing her eyes.

Dr. Kamui opens the door for us, slightly surprised to see me and Neru like this. By now, supper is over, and since it's Sunday, we're gonna watch a movie in a few minutes.

I head upstairs to the rec-room, as usual, Gumi being the only one there. She looks over at me and rolls her eyes.

"Asleep again hunh?" she chuckles as I sit next to her, laying Neru down next to me.

Just as the ads end, Neru wakes up, and curls up beside me, watching the movie with little interest. She looks pretty pale actually, a little weary.

"Maybe you should go to bed a little early." I frown uncertainly, helping her up as me and Gumi walk to their room with her.

"Yeah, probably…" she yawns, before coughing into the crook of her elbow, groaning.

"Night you two." I wave before heading to my own room, crashing on my bed a falling into a dream ridden sleep.

* * *

Uhhhh hey? I'm just gonna continue writing like I haven't been gone for a nearly three weeks, probably more...


	7. Fever Pitched Panic

Neru POV

Groaning slightly, I open my eyes, only to flinch and throw my arm over them.

"God… Why are the lights so bright?" I grumble turning over.

"Cause you're sick?" Gumi chuckles putting her hand on my forehead. "Seriously, look at you, you're a mess!" she shakes her head.

"Thanks, that makes me feel loads better!" I roll my eyes.

"No offense intended then," she laughs "and your temperature is pretty high. You're gonna stay here and rest today, m'kay? No buts!" she smiles, pulling the blankets up over me.

"M'kay…" I sigh, closing my eyes, the room already spinning. I quickly fall into what I hope to be a dreamless sleep.

* * *

_Everything is dark, no light at all, just endless black. I'm lying on something cold and hard, the cold seeping into me making it impossible to move. Suddenly, a blindingly bright light flashes on, and I wince, squeezing my eyes shut._

"_Oh, this one's real ugly! Look at all the scars she's given herself!" someone growls angrily, running their hand across my leg._

_I open my eyes, squinting through the light. I'm surrounded by five surgeons, each wearing a different color. There's one in red, one in blue, one in yellow, one in green and one in white._

"_I think she looks beautiful! Lucky bitch…" the one in green turns her nose up, crossing her arms._

"_Whatever, I don't give a damn about your opinion Green!" the red one sighs, drawing a dotted line down my shirt. "Go on Blue, make an incision." he gestures to my chest. Blue digs the knife into me, dragging it down the line, cutting me open. I scream in pain, the searing sensation rippling across my entire body._

"_Stop! Please!" I choke out, gasping for breath._

"_Isn't her blood such a pretty shade of blue!" Green sneers, ripping the two folds apart and shoving her hands into my ribcage. She rummages around for a little while, me still pleading for her to stop._

"_White, shut her up! I can't concentrate!" Red shouts grumpily, turning towards the doctor in white. White lays her hand on my forehead, gently brushing my bangs away, and my eyes fall shut, suddenly very heavy. I'm instantly calm and quiet, just barely hanging onto my consciousness. I open my eyes again, and for a second I see Haku, her silver hair cascading down the side of her face, and her red eyes warm and comforting. I blink, and I'm met with the falsely sweet stare of White._

"_Found it!" Green grins triumphantly as she pulls out my heart. I never realised how skinny Green is, and how beautifully her dark red hair frames her face, making her forest green eyes pop. Damn, I wish I looked like that… _

"_She has such little love herself, I almost feel sorry for her!" Green laughs, handing my heart to Red._

"_Who would feel sorry for this freak!?" Red cackled, tossing my heart from hand to hand. Suddenly angry, I squirm around and growl, willing him to put it down. He just smirks and hands it to Yellow, who takes it very carefully, trying to be gentle with it._

_I note the missing presence of White's hand, but I still feel ridiculously calm and now very happy._

"_I think she has a wonderful heart, she just needs to learn to trust people more." he smiles, his eyes flashing from Haku's red, to Gumi's green. "All she needs is a little love." he hands it to Blue, who takes it just as gently._

"_She's just like me…" he smiles sadly, gently turning over to get a better look._

_A feeling of unbearable loneliness crashes onto me, leaving me scorchingly numb. A shiver runs down my spine as Blue continues to look at my heart, eventually turning into full on trembling, as silent tears run down my cheeks._

"_White, if you please." Yellow frowned, gesturing to my terrified and tear streaked face._

_White moved to stroke my hair, laying a soft kiss against my forehead. Again, I'm calm and relaxed, almost asleep._

"_I apologize. I really shouldn't hold hearts for too long, I tend to bring a lot of unwanted emotions." Blue smiles sadly, carefully putting my heart back, and rearranging everything Green threw out of place._

"_You'll come back right?" Yellow asks happily as he sews my chest up again. "Cross your heart!" he grinned, grabbing a scalpel and cutting an X over where my heart is._

"_Hope to die." Blue runs his finger down my cheek, causing the loneliness to come rushing back, overtaking my entire system._

"_Stick a needle in your eye!" Red growls, the needle jabbing into the side of my head, just barely missing my eye._

My eyes snap open to a blur of green and white, my breathing ragged, my head pounding and the room spinning. Green reaches down towards me, and I flinch away, remembering how rough she was looking for my heart.

"Please… don't hurt… don't hurt me…" I murmur weakly, turning over and trembling again. My vision is still swimming from my pounding headache, and I start breathing quickly and focus on something to stay awake.

White cautiously moves her hand to rest on my head, softly stroking my hair. I involuntarily relax, quietly whimpering.

"Shhh, it's alright, you're fine." a familiar voice hushes my whimpers, but the haze of my fever makes it impossible to tell who it is. White continues to stroke my hair, humming quietly. Relaxing into near unconsciousness, I finally quiet down, letting White and Green have their way with me.

Green lays her hand on my forehead, and nearly winces as she withdraws. She and White exchange a few worried mumbles, and Green disappears, leaving White.

After a few minutes of quiet humming, she leans down and kisses my forehead, and I once again fall asleep.

* * *

Don't you just love fever dreams? I had this one a few days ago, and it freaked me out to no end


	8. Midnight Coffee

Haku POV

"Morning Gumi." I mumble quietly, tensing as we pass Rin and Len.

"Hey Haku." she sighs sitting down, quietly eating her pancakes.

"What's up? You seem a little off." I sit across from her.

"I just need some Advil or something; Neru's got a blisteringly high fever. I told her to stay in bed for a while, but y'know, this is Neru we're talking about." she laughs lightly, scratching the back of her head.

"I don't have any on me, but we can ask Ms. Megurine after breakfast." I mumble uncertainly, as more people starting to sit down around us. I involuntarily tense up and my breathing quickens, my nerves running on overdrive. "I'll see you later." I stammer nervously, quickly shoving away from the table and nearly running out. I continue running until I'm absolutely sure no one is near, and sink down against the wall, hugging my knees to my chest. My heart beat slows down a little, and I take a few deep breaths to calm myself down, rocking myself back and forth. It's been a long time since I've been around that many people, and to be blunt, it got me really frickin' scared.

I shake my head trying to dispel any thoughts of my past. Maybe I'll go check on Neru… Yeah, that seems like a good idea! Being around her calms me down- Wait, what am I saying I've only known her a few days… Whatever, I need comfort right now, even if it's indirect.

After walking up to her room, I quietly open the door, and tip-toe over to Neru. She's sleeping-not so peacefully, curled up, turned on her right side, clutching her blanket for dear life. Her breathing is uneven and ragged, and her expression is pained.

"Stop… please..." she groans turning over, and I move to stand over, placing my hand on her forehead. She relaxes, her breath evening out as she nuzzles my hand, letting out a sigh of contentment. Her eyes open, just barely, for half a second, and she smiles. Although comforted by the physical contact, I can't help but frown at her high temperature. I sit on the edge of the bed again, trying to even out my own breath and heart-beat. Eventually I calm myself down enough to be almost asleep myself, stroking Neru's hair as she whimpers softly, and leaving a quick kiss on her forehead.

Gumi tip-toes in, quietly closing the door, and looks almost surprised to see me here.

"Well, you're certainly warming up to her aren't you?" she smiles, gesturing towards Neru. I nod slightly, but flinch and turn to her as Neru draws in a sharp breath, jolting awake. Gumi reaches down to feel her forehead, but she flinches away, looking confused and scared.

"Please… don't hurt… don't hurt me…" she murmurs turning over, her breath quickening.

Me and Gumi share a worried glance, and I hesitantly reach out to stroke her hair again. She curls in on herself, but generally relaxes.

"Shhh, it's alright, you're fine." I try to shush her whimpers. I start quietly humming, remembering how singing calmed her down last time. Gumi cautiously reaches down and lays her hand on Neru's forehead, though this time, she doesn't move.

"Holy hell… her temperature is really damn high. I'm gonna go get some medicine." Gumi mumbles worriedly, quickly leaving. I look down at Neru again, who's shivering, and start humming again, lying down next to her. Laying another kiss on her forehead, I sit up, leaning against the wall, waiting impatiently for Gumi to come back.

Neru POV

I moan softly, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. I look over at the clock.

3:17 AM

Oh joy… I am really thirsty though… I'm sure no one will notice if I sneak down to the cafeteria for some water.

Quietly sneaking into the caf, I try not to bang into any tables in the dark.

"And I thought I was the only person who enjoys late night coffee." someone chuckles from behind me. I turn around to see a fairly tall older woman, her black hair in two sloppy pigtails with a single blue streak running through her bangs.

"W-well… i-i-i…" I stammer nervously, backing away.

"Hey now, I'm not gonna hurt you!" she laughs "Aren't you the sick one? Something Akita?" she cocks her head to the side.

"Neru, and y-yeah, I'm the sick one." I cough, leaning on the counter.

"Hang on a sec kid, I'll get something." She smiles, turning around and gathering things. "I'm Dr. Yokune by the way, in charge of all the medicine and shit- pardon the language, but the caffeine is setting in." she smirks turning around, a mug in her hand. "Here," she hands it to me "hot chocolate with vanilla always helped me get to sleep with a fever." I thank her quietly, getting up to leave. "Seeya 'round kid." She waves, leaving herself.

I take a sip of the hot chocolate, and smile, already feeling kinda tired. I trudge back up to my room, finishing my hot chocolate and falling asleep, yet again, dreaming of a gentle red and faded silver.

* * *

Guess who said she would actually write something cause she had a long weekend? Guess who wrote jackshit?

At least I finally found a song for Haku and Neru, even better, I found two! Sweater Weater by The Neighborhood, and Lonely Heart Club by Marin and The Diamonds

And that song in chapter 6 was Trade Mistakes by Panic! At The Disco

SOMETHING I FORGOT TO MENTION!

This isn't really set in a psychiatric hospital, it's more of a rehabilitation center for things that aren't big enough for psychiatric hospitals, so they're not as strict about things. Just though I'd mention it, a reviewer just reminded me! Thanks!


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